head to head · open source
OpenCut vs PySceneDetect
OpenCut has 98,300 GitHub stars, 9,821 forks, 378 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. PySceneDetect has 5,447 stars, 568 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCut leads on adoption by 1,705% (98,300 vs 5,447 stars). OpenCut is written in TypeScript under MIT; PySceneDetect is written in Python under BSD-3-Clause. OpenCut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, PySceneDetect 10%. PySceneDetect was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| OpenCut | PySceneDetect | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 98K | ★ 5.4K |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-11-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.8K | ⑂ 568 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenCut if
- You weight community size — 98K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick PySceneDetect if
- You want the PySceneDetect feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and PySceneDetect fits your workflow better
About OpenCut
OpenCut A free and open source video editor for web, desktop, and mobile. Status OpenCut is being rewritten from the ground up. What's coming: An Editor API First class third party plugins (made possible by a plugin first architecture) Desktop, mobile, and browser from one codebase (Rust core) MCP server (for AI agents) Headless mode (automation, batch rendering) A scripting tab directly in the editor You can still find the previous version at opencut app/opencut classic, which is the one to reach for today. opencut.app still runs the classic version. The rewrite will live at new.opencut.app until it's ready to…
read the full OpenCut overview →
About PySceneDetect
Video Cut Detection and Analysis Tool Latest Release: v0.7.1 (July 21, 2026) Website : scenedetect.com Quickstart Example : scenedetect.com/cli/ Documentation : scenedetect.com/docs/ Discord : Quick Install : pip install scenedetect upgrade Requires ffmpeg/mkvmerge for video splitting support. Windows builds (MSI installer/portable ZIP) can be found on the download page. A Docker image with all dependencies included is available as ghcr.io/breakthrough/pyscenedetect . Quick Start (Command Line) : Split input video on each fast cut using ffmpeg : scenedetect i video.mp4 split video Save some frames from each cut…
read the full PySceneDetect overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCut or PySceneDetect more popular?
OpenCut has 98,300 GitHub stars and PySceneDetect has 5,447. OpenCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenCut and PySceneDetect free?
Both are open source. OpenCut is licensed under MIT and PySceneDetect under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenCut and PySceneDetect?
OpenCut is written in TypeScript and PySceneDetect in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenCut or PySceneDetect?
Choose OpenCut if you want the larger community (98,300 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose PySceneDetect if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.